Glitch
by palomino333
Summary: Post GTA IV Revenge ending. Niko receives a rather curious call. Niko/Kate one-shot.


Forming an idea is not the same as actually writing it out. This was very hard to actually type, and I had a few qualms about posting this. Niko's probably one of the most difficult characters I have written to date.

There is a glitch that occurs in-game after the Revenge ending. If you continue playing after the Revenge ending, a call from an "Unknown Number" can appear on Niko's phone, the caller being Kate McReary. She will ask Niko if he wants to hang out, despite the fact that she is dead. Having Niko accept allows the date to continue as it usually would.

I own nothing.

* * *

"Loving sister and daughter."

That was all the epitaph above Miss McReary's grave had to say. It was a short blurb to her life, and a generic-sounding one, at that.

Niko, knowing far better, had at times felt the urge to destroy the stone for its utter lack of detail. Such words could never tell all that she was.

XXXXXX

Kate's green eyes narrowed in concentration as she lined up her pool stick correctly to strike a cue ball. Strands of her red hair fell over her face at the movement. The game was silly and played too often between them, but it at least made them forget about their respective problems for a short while.

XXXXXX

Maureen had wept at her daughter's funeral, inquiring to God as to what Kate did to deserve this. Niko wisely kept his distance from her, considering the occurrence of the death of her daughter. What could he say to comfort her, Kate wasn't meant to die, and Pegorino had meant to shoot him, instead? Perhaps he could tell Maureen how he listened to her heart's final beats as she passed quickly away, her blood splattered on the church's front sidewalk?

XXXXXX

Kate's playful warnings to him about her disability by genetics to hold her liquor had always proved quite true, and seldom times were the results humorous. He had to practically carry her toddling body out of the Steinway Beer Garden when she had gotten completely sloshed. She managed to not exclaim any personal details before he placed her in the passenger seat.

After the door had slammed, however, it was a different story. Kate spent the entire drive with her head in her folded arms, which were propped on the dashboard. Her muffled voice declared tearfully how she had borne witness to her brothers' molestation, and her inability to stand up to her father for fear of her own skin.

Niko, thankfully for her, kept most of his attention on the road. Burying her with questions and accusations would do nothing, not to mention he was far from the right person to do so. He knew Kate would be embarrassed later, but it was better to just let her cry, with the streetlights above ghosting over her through the windshield and side window.

Her words, however, did explain quite a bit to him, but that would be as far as they would go. Even she was not completely noble, but that at least was a little refreshing. A perfect person wouldn't survive in this world.

XXXXXX

Packie had kept a strong face through the funeral, but it was tightly strained. Derrick was long gone, having left Liberty City once more. He had reason enough, considering his own flesh and blood had tried to have him killed. That left the final McReary brother, with his dear sister gone.

Conversation between Niko and his friend had been understandably strained. What more could they say? He hadn't heeded Packie's warning to not get close to Kate, and she had paid the price. It would take time for both of them to recover.

XXXXXX

True to what her brother had told him, Kate would never allow Niko to follow her inside after he dropped her back at home. That didn't matter much; the loose women that populated Liberty City were more than happy to satisfy for a fee.

That aside, a small ounce of propriety was an occasional gift in itself. Kate's bidding him good night proved another week of their survival. It actually became a sort of relieving routine to see her red ponytail bob as she ascended the stairs to the front door.

Once, however, that head of hair turned, and her green eyes were staring back at him, her one hand gripping the rail. Her frown was plain to see, and her eyebrow was slightly raised.

Niko stared back at her for a moment before cracking a small smile, and waving good-bye. Kate returned it, but still maintained that same inquisitive expression. She too wondered if this would happen again, that her phone call would be answered by him, rather than Niko's phone ringing next to his corpse, the keyboard and screen splattered with his blood.

Not to say he wasn't grateful for her concern, but it reminded him too well of the conversations he would have with Roman. They made it sound so easy to leave this life behind.

XXXXXX

It was before this pitiful headstone that Niko stood. Flowers had at first seemed too sentimental, but a couple of them seemed appropriate for her resting place.

Was this what closure felt like? He was more compelled to scoff at it. He had come here a few times before, when the dirt had not yet settled. The feeling really wasn't much different, save for the fact that time had taken off some of the edge.

Talking to her remains wouldn't bring her back, he knew that too well, but that void did remain within him.

Niko gave the grave one final look before turning to leave. He was used to having such holes within him, what little consolation that was.

XXXXXX

"Mallorie, she's...pregnant. If it's a girl, we'll call it Kate."

Within two months, Roman's words would be tested. Mallorie, wanting the child's gender to be a surprise, had insisted on no ultrasound.

Jacob's words to him during the ill-fated wedding proved to be prophetic, not that that was any surprise. He was a fool to think that he could have completely escaped everything with Kate.

The juxtaposition between seeing family and participating in theft, dealing, and occasionally a homicide for pay was nothing new, but the oftener occurrence of the former at least made it a little better.

Still, he missed having Packie at his side at times, although McReary's choice to take care of his mother was by no means a bad one. Not to say they still didn't meet, and play darts together. Packie would continue to bitch if he lost.

Thankfully, it was one of the better occasions that brought him to the streets of Liberty City this time. He'd at least get to spend a few hours with his remaining family. Doing what, he didn't care.

The Sun's setting rays drew over the sidewalk, and reflected off the windows of the towering residential buildings of South Bohan above. He had passed out earlier, his previous job causing him in a roundabout way to lose track of time. Most of the day was gone from him.

He had just taken a few steps away from the front door to Mallorie's former apartment when his cell phone went off, drawing his attention.

Drawing it from his pocket, Niko found the words "Unknown Number" displayed on its face. He hesitated for a moment as the phone continued to ring, unsure of what answering it would bring. Preferring to err on the side of caution, however, was ridiculous, considering the fact that he had personally executed all who had done him wrong (excepting the self-destructive Darko).

Pressing TALK, he placed it to his ear, only to be met with silence.

The seconds ticked by. Niko idly cast his gaze at the soapboxxer across the street from him. The preacher in question was clearly getting nowhere. The few passerby in the vicinity were ignoring him. The only thing he was accomplishing was polluting the air with senseless garbage.

He hadn't been paying any real attention to the scene, but the caller's voice caused him to let out a short breath of surprise.

"Hey Europe, it's America—and Ireland."

Niko's disbelief was replaced with suspicion. It sounded just like Kate, but that just wasn't possible.

"Wanna hang out?" Her inquiry was the same as it had always been.

His eyes narrowed, and he took the phone from his ear to stare once more at the screen. It still read the same.

"Niko? Are you there?" There was no mistaking it. That sounded just like her, the voice being filled with genuine concern. She was worried for him again.

Only one problem with that.

Niko brought the phone back up again to demand in angered voice, "Who is this?"

No response, save a burst of static, came.

His thumb pressed down on the END button, and the call was disconnected.

After commanding the phone to redial, he commenced listening once more, intent on determining his culprit.

"We're sorry, but your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number, and try again," the automated voice declared before cutting the call short.

After letting out a frustrated growl, he tried his luck again. The same result was achieved. There was a reason why he hated this phone.

The urge to hurl it as far from him as possible seized Niko, and it was difficult to not give into the temptation to do so.

In the end, however, he still needed it for the time being. He would properly dispose of it later.

Turning, he walked away from the apartment. Niko was no stranger to the ghosts of the past, but that had been unnerving. Could it really have been...? He would look into it later, given there was no clear threat as of this point in time, if any at all.

At least the memory of her didn't hold the same sort of pain. Pegorino had taken her from him, but he had gotten his just due. The only remaining animosity was at himself for his failure, but he could live with his flaws.

"How do I know that you're right for me? How do I know that I won't get hurt?"

The light-hearted grin Kate had given him after the wedding ceremony had ended showed that although her questions were far from answered, she had held confidence in him. For a few moments, they'd happily held each other. Childish as it was, it was worth keeping.

If that strange phone call had signified anything, it was the continuation of life as usual. What that life was, he was still unsure. Whatever he could have had with Kate was gone, but the time to mourn it, and more importantly, her, was drawing steadily to a close.

Whether that conclusion was a newfound sense of freedom or imprisonment to Niko Bellic, he didn't care. What mattered to him was that his cousin had a child on the way, and he would be there to defend his family.


End file.
